Life As A Tower Maid: Locked Up With The Prince

Albert became busy. And I mean, extremely busy. At a time like this, I realized once again that I wouldn’t be able to see him right away just because I wanted to see him.

The attendants just kept repeating all the time that I wouldn’t be able to see His Royal Highness.

He needed to do his work as the incoming king, clean up the nobles, and also wind the hearts of the masses— all that wouldn’t be easy, sure. I could understand that, and I didn’t seek out Albert either. I wanted to meet him, but I endured and held it in.

We’re outside the tower now, I got myself some land, and I had a bright future ahead of me. Though there’s this slight problem: I can’t leave just yet…

Liam was making the preparations to send me away, and this included preparing the house at the northern town where I’d be staying.

As it turned out, there was a forest—and a lake inside that forest—at the fief. And I didn’t know this before, but apparently, it was rumored to be a resort spot amongst the nobles.

The blue lake, which did not freeze even in winter, was very famous.

Liam seemed to be determined about letting me out of Albert’s sight so that he would no longer look for me.

But I mean, I’m really not sure anymore whether that would still work,

My imminent departure was purely just a grace period for my sake. No matter how hard either Liam or I struggled, it was almost impossible for me to ever leave Albert’s scope.

“Rosé.”

Calling my name, he beckoned me to come to him as he was lounging on the sofa. It’s like I’m watching a painting move as he moved one finger while raising his gaze languidly to look at me.

I sat down on the other side and faced him.

“Why aren’t you sitting next to me?”

“Then I won’t be able to see your face, Prince.”

My eyes were focused on Albert’s face because it’s true that I wanted to look at him more. But, if I were perfectly honest with myself, I actually don’t know what would happen if I sat next to him.

Contrary to the attendants’ claims that I wouldn’t be able to see Albert, and in spite of how busy he was, he still visited me every evening. Consistently.

So far after leaving the tower, his attitude had not changed even a little.

Truthfully, he’d become more proactive ever since the contract was no longer in effect. Consistently, he would sit next to me. Consistently, he would touch me. And consistently, he would kiss me.

It was nigh impossible to push him away.

Once it ever started, it felt so good that I’d lose any semblance of rationality. That’s why it’s better to keep a proper distance like this so that it wouldn’t start at all.

As if he was conscious of my grace period of one month, his touch never crossed the line. But then again, every moment I spent with him, we would just stick by each other’s side that it was so difficult to move away again.

“Then I should go to you.”

Albert had raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t like my words just now, then he got up from his seat and sat next to me in a blink of an eye.

I flinched a little, but he smiled and buried his face on my shoulder. The sound of his breaths brushed over my skin and tickled my heart.

“Do you have to go?”

Albert whispered in a low voice.

He seemed to be dismayed that I was still adamant about leaving his side for the moment.

I wonder if he’s just being mischievous with the way that he didn’t want me to part from him. I looked at the back of his head and murmured.

“…You’ve attached Mercy to my side already, and in the first place, you knew about all the plans I made with Duke Liam.”

“But you’re still free to run away. They’re all helping you, too.”

Albert replied. He didn’t seem to be trying to deny it.

…So he did know a lot about how I wanted to run away. I can’t believe this.

“Since it’s come to this, I hope you know just how much I can’t let you go.”

As Albert said this, I chuckled a little. He kept saying things that made it impossible for me to hate him.

…Apart from my initial reason of wanting to confirm Albert’s unchanging feelings, I really had another reason for needing to be away from his side now.

First of all, I didn’t want to interrupt his work.

I’m aware that Albert was someone who knew how to separate public and private affairs, but there was no reason for him to overdo it just for my sake.

“Liam is working hard on it, I see.”

“…Do you even know where I’m going?” I asked.

“No. I saw just how much Liam was suffering while trying very hard, so I decided not to dig into it anymore.”

“Thank you. Please don’t try to look for me. Otherwise, it’s really going to be meaningless.”

Above all, this was going to be my first and final time to escape Albert’s eyes.

I needed to find a way to properly conclude my contract with Blanc.

“I know. You’re going to regret taking an entire month to be away from me, so you’ll surely come back.”

Albert murmured as he was still buried in my shoulder, and his words tickled my skin.

Soon, he raised his head. I saw that the corners of his lips were downturned.

That expression of his was designed to rouse the viewer’s sympathy. However, the problem right now was that he didn’t exactly look pitiable—rather, he simply looked like a beast who had his food served before him.

He whispered into my ear.

“Have you gone back to the tower yet?”

“No, not yet. I do still need to get the rest of my clothes though.”

“…Then let’s go to the tower together before you leave. Despite everything, I’m starting to miss that place.”

What he said made me feel relieved.

Now that I was in a wide, open space like this, there were times when I’d suddenly remember that small room over there, in a place where only he and I existed.

…I didn’t know I’d miss such a tiny place. I’ve left the place I wanted to leave all that time, yet I’m starting to miss it, like a disobedient child who never followed what she’s told.

I nodded.

At that moment, Blanc woke up from his nap and went to my lap, getting snug as he found his place. Albert coldly stared at Blanc, but the little dragon then responded with a cold stare of his own.

The relationship between these two was getting worse and worse.

Albert was usually kind to his people, but Blanc was an exception—he was always strict with him. I patted Blanc’s head and sighed.

“…Prince, Blanc isn’t the same dragon that you met when you were young.”

I read this in a book, but apparently dragons were a lot harder to meet than I thought.

If they could catch someone’s eye, then that person could become a contractor. However, as the probability of their death would increase over time, dragon cubs also tended to avoid people more.

“Right, it must be another dragon… But they strangely resemble each other.”

Albert narrowed his eyes, but I replied.

“Strangely resemble each other?”

“Their eyes, and their energies—I feel like they’re similar. And I told you before, I really don’t like dragons. I’ve felt the same way ever since I was young.”

This conversation was like a Möbius strip. I wanted to avoid these two from starting a fight, so I changed the topic.

“…There’s actually something I wanted to ask you today.”

At my words, Albert looked up and met my gaze. He tilted his head to the side in question.

“What is it?”

“…How should I call you now? You’ve become the King now, but I still keep calling you ‘Prince’.”

Mercy, Liam and all the others have since changed the way they addressed him after he became the incoming king, but I was still calling him ‘Prince’.

I was also used to calling him ‘Your Highness’ at first, but I’ve become more accustomed to calling him ‘Prince’.

Despite vowing that I’d soon call him properly as ‘Your Royal Highness’[1], the word ‘Prince’ still kept popping out of my lips. It’s become a habit by now.

“Indeed, the way you’ll call me now is a problem.”

He also seemed to think so. After all, it was unreasonable to continue calling the incoming king as prince, still. He probably didn’t want to hear it either.

I should be more careful about his title.

“Then call me Albert.”

It took me a while to process what Albert just said. With a baffled expression, I asked back.

“…Huh?”

As he perched his chin on one hand, Albert’s eyes curved like crescent moons. There was a sly smile on his lips, and just the sight of it bewitched me as though he was a siren.

“You called my name well enough while I was asleep.”

You weren’t sleeping back then?!

“I don’t understand why you’ve closed your mouth as if you’ve glued it now.”

One eyebrow went up. He clasped the back of my hand and covered it with his own hand.

“When it’s just the two of us, I don’t think it’s bad to hear you call my name.”

No, I mean, who on earth calls the king by his name? He’s not even a prince anymore. He’s the king, for pete’s sake.

No matter how much Albert and I flirted, it’s difficult to say that we’re that close to each other.

I couldn’t imagine what kind of repercussions there would be if I ever unintentionally call him by his name in public.

So, I was about to open my lips and firmly turn down the suggestion, but then Albert suddenly spoke up, and his words soon got stuck in my ears.

“Hearing someone call my name feels better than I imagined.”

“……”

“I didn’t know that my name would sound so good, Rosé.”

A soft, singsong voice tickled my ears like a spring breeze. I couldn’t deny his words.

Calling a person’s name had more effects than one could think. And, true enough, I was also excited every time he called me Rosé.

“I don’t care about what you call me in front of other people. If you want to continue calling me ‘Prince’, then you can continue doing so. I’ll accept whatever you call me.”

As he stroked my hand, it felt like there was a feverish heat brushing over my skin.

“Rosé, try calling me ‘Albert’.”

Prompting me to say it right away, his gentle voice urged me.

“You said it’s alright to call you Prince.”

I mean, you’re the ‘Prince’ so that’s what I’m calling you. But Albert flowed without pause, and it was as if he was truly concerned.

“If you’re having a hard time saying it, just think of it as an order and call me like that.”

Honestly, I do want to call him by his name. Rather than calling him ‘Prince’, I would feel much closer to him if it was his name instead.

First his title was ‘Your Highness’, then ‘Prince’, and now ‘Your Royal Highness’. No one ever said his name.

After realizing that I’d be the only one who’s allowed to call him by his name, I felt myself wavering.

“Rosé.”

And after hearing that pleading tone, I finally shaped my lips to utter his name.

The name lingered upon my lips first, but soon flowed out through the air with my voice.

“Albert.”

The evening had come upon us, but his face was as bright as the day.

As if he didn’t expect me to say it so quickly, Albert’s wide-open eyes contained emotions that were usually difficult to see.

The corners of his lips rose somewhat shyly, his expression turning boyish.

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if to savor the sound, then he opened them once more.

“Again.”

With one hand, he gently raised my chin.

“Albert.”

Once more, I uttered his name.

This name that could be heard by only the two of us—I quite liked it as well. I was embarrassed, but just as I was excited and happy to hear him say my name, I wanted him to experience the same thing as well.

“Rosé, thank you.”

“……”

“Thanks to you, I started thinking that it’s good to be alive.”

“……”

“Rather than just living for revenge, thank you for giving me a meaning to my life.”

…I’m the one who’s fortunate to have met you, Albert.

——

¹ Albert’s title is actually a bit tricky at this point. Before the uprising and while he was still a prince, Albert’s term of address was ‘저하’, which is a lower form of ‘Your Highness’. Now that he’s the incoming king, he’s now being called by the others as ‘전하’, which is still ‘Your Highness’ but higher than the previous one. When he officially ascends to the throne, he would then be addressed as ‘폐하’, which is ‘Your Majesty’.

It’s not the right translation, but I’ve decided to differentiate the two by using ‘Your Royal Highness’ every time 전하 shows up. I hope this is a clear enough distinction.